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Todd: Two of our local sports teams have suffered significant injuries to their respective defenses, and now we’re about to find out how they’ll respond in the face of adversity and their respective serious championship aspirations.

Let’s start with the Black and Gold, who were already stumbling out of the blocks while Claude Julien has attempted to find both line combinations and defensive pairings that click.  Now the Bruins will have to go for at least the next 4-6 weeks without their rock on the blue line, Zdeno Chara.

Reports following last night’s (Oct. 22) loss to Johnny Boychuk’s NY Islanders indicate that Big Z suffered torn knee ligaments, and how much time he’ll miss won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI to determine the extent of the injury and whether he will need surgery.

If there’s any blessing with this news—assuming that Chara’s injury is not season-ending—is that when he does eventually return to the ice healthy, the 37-year old should be less worn down and fatigued come playoff time.

But in the short term, the Bruins will need the kids like Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski to step up and take advantage of their increased playing time, which could also serve them well come next spring if they rise to the occasion and continue gaining confidence.  Probably would also help if Tuukka Rask could figuratively stand on his head for the next few weeks.

Now to the gridiron, where just as we were wondering whether the Patriots’ defense is capable of being more than their usual bend-but-don’t-break unit following the loss of Jerod Mayo, another notable player goes down.

Chandler Jones, one of the seemingly few Pats’ big-play defenders, suffered a hip injury against the Jets and is expected to be sidelined for about a month.  Of course with the tight-lipped Bill Belichick, we may never know how significant the injury is unless Jones winds up on season-ending injured reserve.

With the NFL trade deadline fast approaching (October 28), the Pats swung a deal for a defensive player for the third straight year, getting fourth-year linebacker Akeem Ayers from the Tennessee Titans.  They also signed eight-year veteran defensive end Alan Branch to help fill in for Jones.  But it could take some time for Branch to get into playing shape, as he was cut by the Bills in training camp and hasn’t played for anyone since.

The timing of Chandler’s injury could not come at a worse time, as the Pats enter a difficult seven-week stretch in their schedule.  Summing up just how difficult it is, here are the opposing quarterbacks New England’s defense faced so far this season while posting a 5-2 record: Ryan Tannehill, Matt Cassel, Derek Carr, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Kyle Orton and Geno Smith.  All seven of those QBs rank in the bottom twelve of the league in QB rating.

Over the next seven weeks (which includes a bye in Week 10), the Pats’ D goes up against six signal callers that all rank in the top 20 in quarterback rating (four of them currently rank in the top six): Jay Cutler, Peyton Manning, Oliver Luck, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and Philip Rivers.

That is one tough QB gauntlet to try and run through unscathed, even for a totally healthy and cohesive defensive unit.  For this group of Pats defenders, I’d be downright ecstatic if they could win four of these next six games.

It all starts on Sunday when Cutler brings his Chicago Bears to Foxboro.  ‘Da Bears’ have played like ‘da bums’ at home this season, going 0-3 and looking downright dysfunctional after several fights had to be broken up in their locker room last week following a bad home loss to the Miami Dolphins, who themselves had been struggling (once again proving NFL parity is alive and well).

But sometimes this kind of internal aggression between teammates bring a club together, and the Bears have played much better on the road (3-1).  Cutler in particular has performed significantly better away from the Windy City, tossing nine touchdown passes and only two interceptions with a 104.6 QB rating.

The key for the Pats, as it has been in most of their wins (last week against the Jets notwithstanding), will be the ability of the defense to force turnovers, especially with a QB like Cutler.  Since joining the Bears in 2009, Cutler is 21-5 when he doesn’t throw an interception but 4-18 when he throws multiple picks.

This game has all the makings of a quarterback shootout, and despite Cutler’s odd road/home splits I’m taking Tom Brady on his home turf.  Patriots 31, Bears 28.

Trying my best to remain within shouting distance of Mike, my other game picks for this week (2-1 last week, 10-7-1 season): Bengals over the Ravens, Texans over the Titans and Chiefs over the Rams, as October has been very good to the Kansas City sports teams.

Mike:  Nothing but defensive doom and gloom out there lately. The latest news from the Bruins on Chara is 4-6 weeks, and I kind of believe that simply because of Chara's toughness.

The main question is how the Bruins handle the absence of their big defenseman. Will they be able to tread water and still be in a strong position when he comes back.

Only time will tell.

As for the Patriots, who knows what's going to happen with them. Every time I think I know, they go in a different direction. I had them dead and buried after the KC loss, and they up and destroyed Cincinnati. So, I'm giving up on trying to figure them out this season, I'm just going to watch and try and enjoy the ride.

As for this week, they are catching the Bears at a good time as the team seems to be in disarray. Hopefully, they will be able to take care of Chicago at home, and I don't think they will run away with it, but I see the Patriots winning 24-17.

For my other picks (3-0 last week, 15-3 season): Colts over the Steelers, Eagles over the Cardinals and Seattle over Carolina.

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Our next LIVE show is this Monday night, October 27 from 8-9pm.  You can post your questions via Twitter using the hashtag #TOSToct27 or call in at (617) 484-2443.

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